


R is for Rumor

by fiery_day



Series: Alphabet One Shots [4]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Bets & Wagers, Gen, Homelessness, Rumors, but no one actually is, talk of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-05
Updated: 2019-09-30
Packaged: 2019-11-12 14:12:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18012416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fiery_day/pseuds/fiery_day
Summary: Rumors abound amongst the homeless community about the vigilantes of Gotham.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story was incredibly short, but is now slightly longer. I have posted the original chapter as the second chapter. 
> 
> Also, the characters belong to their respective owners; I don't own anything.
> 
> Who cares what canon is? I don't.

It was a nighttime in Gotham. The frost was just starting to melt making everything wet and mushy. The temperature was just high enough at night to make sure nothing froze over but still bitterly cold enough that the homeless population of Gotham needed to beware of frostbite and hypothermia. 

“So, does that mean we’re wrong? I was set to get three blankets on that bet!” a voice was heard to exclaim in the night. A group of people were huddled around a fire in an alleyway. Their clothes were piled on in layers to protect them from the cold nights. Several were exchanging wagers and items of interest such as blankets, drugs, and food vouchers.

This was not an unexpected sight. Many of the homeless population tried to make life easier by trading and betting their things in order to get what they wanted and needed. If you had an excess of something, you tried to make life easier by trading your excess for something you didn’t have. It was simple logic to most although there were a few hoarders that never gave anything up.

Tonight, the bets were centered around the ever-present vigilantes. It was difficult to get much information about them, but the Bats sometimes weren’t paying as good of attention to their surroundings as they ought to and let some things slip. The homeless were very good at being unnoticeable when they wanted to be.

“Well, the Batman-y Robin is still around and the Batman-Batman has shown back up. I would say your theory of Batman being de-aged and Nightwing having to play the Batman to his Robin has been debunked,” another person said. Seeing how the other was going to protest, they quickly said, “And Johnny down by the docks basically confirmed it.” This was met with a grumble. The first person reached into a pocket and handed over three food vouchers and a rolled joint.

“Pleasure doing business.”

That theory was a particularly outlandish one that was thought up by Crazy Mike, but there was some precedent in that Ricky and Jim had seen Batman de-aged by a sorcerer a couple of years ago. The Robin of the time had had to quickly scoop up the baby Batman and beat a hasty retreat. 

“So has anyone confirmed that the Bat cheated on Catwoman with Joker?” asked the creator of the previous theory. 

“For the last time, Mike, everyone knows that Joker and the Bat hate each other. They ain’t banging!” exclaimed a bundle of rags opposite Mike.

“You never know! Their fighting could be just an elaborate bit of foreplay,” Mike defended.

“That theory is even worse that the one floating around about Brucie Wayne being the Batman!”


	2. Original Chapter One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the original chapter that was posted for this story. If you want to read the new and improved story, read the first chapter.

“So, does that mean we’re wrong? I was set to get three blankets on that bet!” a voice was heard to exclaim in the night. A group of people were huddled around a fire in an alleyway. Their clothes were piled on in layers to protect them from the steadily colder nights. Several were exchanging wagers and items of interest such as blankets, drugs, and food vouchers.

“Well, the Batman-y Robin is still around and the Batman-Batman has shown back up. I would say your theory of Batman being de-aged and Nightwing having to play the Batman to his Robin has been debunked,” another person said. Seeing how the other was going to protest, they quickly said, “And Johnny down by the docks basically confirmed it.” This was met with a grumble. The first person reached into a pocket and handed over three food vouchers and a rolled joint.

“Pleasure doing business.”

“So has anyone confirmed that the Bat cheated on Catwoman with Joker?” asked one of the bundles of rags toward the edge of the group.

“For the last time, Mike, everyone knows that Joker and the Bat hate each other. They ain’t banging!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I have been going through my stories in order and editing them.   
> This story always stuck out to me as one that I wasn't exactly happy with so I'm glad that I finally got around to editing it.
> 
> Hopefully some new fics will be coming out soon.

**Author's Note:**

> I find it fun to imagine all the crazy rumors that the citizens of Gotham come up with about our favorite vigilantes.Do you have any fun ones you want to share? 
> 
> I don't even try for an accent, but they would all probably be speaking with one.
> 
> Also, I don't mean to throw shade at anyone who ships BatJokes; I just thought I could have someone in-universe ship them, but everyone else be like "Naw, impossible!"
> 
> Edited 30 September 2019. Major editing happened. Whole paragraphs were added.


End file.
